Wednesday, December 13, 2006

The New Cowboys Cathedral

I have always thought that if Jerry Jones were to die, his ego would live on as a disembodied cloud, floating around Dallas dispensing outrageous signing bonuses to free agents.

Jones will now have an architectural monstrosity to match his boundless egotism when the new Texas Stadium opens in 2009. Plans were officially unveiled today for the massive sports complex, which will cover 2.3 million square feet at a cost of ONE BILLION dollars.

One billion dollars. Dallas might not be able to feed its homeless population, but by gum, it WILL have a state of the art football complex, with taxpayers picking up about 325 million of the tab. (The 325 million, by the way, was originally intended to cover HALF of the stadium cost. Guess Jerry miscalculated a smidgen.)

The stadium, keeping the iconic hole in the now-retractable roof, will seat 80,000 fans, with the possibility of up to 100,000 seats for special events. Designed by HKS Architects (The same firm that designed Ameriquest Field), the stadium will be encased in glass, with a primary entrance covered by two 1300 foot tall steel arches.

The highlight would have to be the 60 yard long scoreboards and screens hanging above the field. Here's hoping that this scoreboard screen can be lowered to field level for special screenings of Star Wars.

Jones apparently has been putting together this stadium plan for eight years, even before the public funding was approved two years ago. This cathedral will be open year round, so all football pilgrims can come worship at the altar of the Gods of Football, and pay homage to America's Team.

And for Rangers fans, the new fangled Texas Stadium (it has not been corporately monikered yet - I vote for Hush Puppies Field) will be within sight of Ameriquest Field. As they ponder the shining stadium on the hill, Rangers fans can only wonder when Tom Hicks will get the itch for new digs.

That red-brick facade of Ameriquest IS looking a little faded these days...